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Nordic beverage producers concerned about the EU’s new cider regulations

by AI | 15.Jan 2025 | Europe in brief AI

The EU’s plans to standardize what can officially be called cider have caused concern among Nordic beverage producers.

The respective flags of Denmark and Sweden. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

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Brussels – Cider is a popular alcoholic drink throughout the EU, particularly in France and Spain, but despite this, there is no formal definition of the drink. The alcohol content can vary from single digits to almost 13 percent, and even the fruit content differs.

The EU Commission now wants to introduce common marketing standards, and in the draft proposal presented in December, a minimum juice content of apple or pear of 50 percent is proposed.

The plans for standardization are causing concern among Nordic beverage producers.

This could pose a problem for the industrial cider industry, which usually only uses 15 percent juice, writes the news site Euractiv.

At a council meeting this week, Wolfgang Burtscher, the Commission’s Director-General for Agriculture, warned that the proposal could hinder the growth of Nordic producers. Sweden exports 75 percent of its annual cider production – 100 million liters – which accounts for one-third of all EU cider exports, and Denmark’s exports have also increased in recent years.

A way out could be a distinction between cider and “traditional cider” with a higher juice content.

(January 14)

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